Beating the drum with Indians.com reporter Jordan Bastian

Hang 10: Indians’ historic skid continues

I wrote on Wednesday night in Kansas City that I was not going to do another “Covering the Bases” blog post until the Indians won another game. I never would’ve guessed that, nearly a week later, Cleveland’s losing streak would still be active.

In my days covering the Blue Jays, I chronicled a pair of nine-game slides. To be honest, I don’t remember much about them. I find it hard to believe — due to the timing and the consequences — I’ll ever forget this one.

The Indians went from such an emotional high (beating Justin Verlander in comeback fashion on July 26 to pull within 3.5 games of first place) to such an incredible, gut-wrenching low. Here we are, it’s now Aug. 6, and Cleveland is suddenly 10.5 games back. The Tribe’s deficit wasn’t that deep until Sept. 10 last season.

There have been roster casualties (Derek Lowe, Johnny Damon and Jeremy Accardo have each been designated for assignment) and demotions (Josh Tomlin booted from rotation to bullpen). There has been a ball lost in the sun (Ezequiel Carrera), a runner caught over-running first base in fair ground (Carlos Santana) and one epic blown save (Chris Perez).

And, in the latest edition of this incredible collapse, there was a 10-run inning that seemed sadly poetic in this 10th consecutive defeat. So, cover your children’s eyes, and make sure you’re sitting down, because here is a quick rundown that puts some historical perspective on this losing streak:

The Indians have nine losing streaks of 10 or more games, dating back to 1918.

This is the longest losing streak for the Indians since the team dropped 11 in a row in September of 2009.

The club’s longest losing streak was a 12-game skid from May 7-21, 1931.

There have been only two losing streaks of 11 games: the one in 2009 and another that took place in 1928.

This marks only the seventh time since 1918 that an Indians team has allowed five runs or more in 10 consecutive games (wins or losses). The record is 11 such games in a row (Sept. 23, 2008-April 11, 2009).

There have been 327 losing streaks of 10 or more games in baseball history, dating back to 1918. This is only the 13th time that a Major League team has given up at least five runs in each of the losses.

The Indians have allowed 88 runs in the past 10 games. That marks the most runs allowed by Cleveland in any 10-game stretch since the club gave up 89 runs in a 10-game period in August of 1938.

Cleveland’s pitching staff has an 8.12 ERA (77 ER/85.1 IP) during the current 10-game losing streak. That is the highest ERA posted by an Indians team in any of the nine 10-game skids in franchise history.

Cleveland’s starting rotation has gone 0-8 with an 11.66 ERA (57 ER/44 IP) over the 10-game losing streak. Zach McAllister’s outing (1.2 IP) on Monday marked the sixth time in 10 losses that the Tribe’s starting pitcher lasted fewer than five innings.

The 10 runs allowed in the second inning represented the most runs yielded in a single inning by the Indians since the club gave up 12 runs to the Red Sox in the sixth inning on May 7, 2009 at Fenway Park.

It marked the most runs allowed in an inning at Progressive Field since the Tribe gave up 10 runs to the Angels in the eighth inning on April 30, 2002.

Over the course of the 10-game skid, the Indians offense has hit a collective .219 (75-for-343) with 31 run scored (3.1 per game).

Over the 10 losses, the Indians have been outscored 13-4 through the first inning, 31-7 through the second inning, 39-13 through three innings and 58-15 through four innings. That means they’ve been down roughly five runs on average after four frames.

Quote of the Day:

“I asked one of my coaches to pinch me. I couldn’t believe what was happening.”–Indians manager Manny Acta, on the Twins’ 10-run second inning on Monday

On deck:

Twins (48-62) at Indians (50-59)at 7:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday at Progressive Field

Today, I went to the beach front with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed.
There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear.
She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is completely off topic but
I had to tell someone!

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